Chacey Poynter and Michael Garza have been arrested in the murder of Poynter’s husband, Robert Poynter.
A man and woman have been charged in the murder of the woman’s husband, a Texas fire captain, police said.
Chacey Poynter and Michael Garza were arrested this weekend after her 47-year-old husband, Robert Poynter, was found shot dead in his truck Friday night in Royse City, Texas, according to a police press release.
Chacey Poynter, 29, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Garza, 37, was charged with murder.
The slain husband, Robert “Bob” Poynter, was a captain in the University Park Fire Department, officials said.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Chacey Poynter Sought Help After Her Husband Was Shot, but Police Say She Gave ‘Suspicious & Conflicting Information’
Robert and Chacey Poynter. (Facebook)
Chacey Poynter was found by police Friday night about 10:40 p.m. after they received calls about a woman in the road trying to stop vehicles, the Royce City Police Department said in a press release.
The woman told responding officers “her husband had been shot and was in a vehicle” located on a nearby road, according to the press release.
“Officers placed the female in a police vehicle and went to investigate the incident,” police said. “A male subject who is believed to be the female’s husband was discovered in the vehicle with a single gunshot wound.”
This is where Royse City Police say murder happened last night — off FM 35 near Hunt County Road 2595.
Police said the man, later identified as Robert Poynter, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Officers investigating this incident discovered suspicious and conflicting information that was provided by the female,” police said, adding that the investigation suggested a “third party subject” was at the scene at the time of the shooting.
University Park Fire Cpt. Robert Poynter fatally shot Friday. Wife, Chacey Poynter, charged w/ consp.2 commit murdr
An arrest warrant was later obtained charging Chacey Poynter with conspiracy to commit murder.
She is being held at the Hunt County Jail.
2. Garza Was Taken Into Custody After Police Searched for Him at Homes Where He Has Lived & in Wooded Areas
Chacey Poynter. (Facebook)
After taking Chacey Poynter into custody, police began searching for Michael Garza, the man identified by investigators as the “third party” who had been at the scene of the shooting, according to a Royse City Police press release.
“Information provided led to a search warrant of a home in Quinlan, Texas, where a Michael Garza is believed to reside,” police said. Officers also searched wooded areas near the home and other locations where Garza has lived, according to police.
He turned himself in Sunday morning and is being held on a murder charge at the Hunt County Jail.
3. Police Have Not Provided Any Details About a Motive or if Garza & Chacey Poynter Knew Each Other
(Facebook)
Police have not yet released any information about a possible motive for the shooting. They have also not said how, or if, Michael Garza and Chacey Poynter know each other.
According to Park Cities People, police connected Garza and Chacey Poynter through Facebook. They are friends on the social media site, the news site reports.
Investigators have also not disclosed what the “suspicious and conflicting” information Chacey Poynter provided to them consisted of.
Poynter and Garza are being held without bail. It is not known when they are due to appear in court for the first time. It is also not known if they have hired attorneys.
4. Captain Bob Poynter Was a Beloved Member of the University Park Fire Department & Volunteered in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina
Bob Poynter. (Facebook)
Captain Robert “Bob” Poynter was an 18-year veteran of the University Park Fire Department, it said in a statement issued Saturday.
Poynter began his career as a firefighter/paramedic, was promoted to lieutenant in 2002 and to captain in 2012.
“The members of the University Park Fire Department were deeply saddened to hear of his passing,” the department said in the statement. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time. “Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, at this time, the department will not comment further.”
Poynter was named the University Park Firefighter of the Year in 2003, according to Park Cities People.
He was among a group of four University Park firefighters to volunteer in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Poynter and his colleagues searched for survivors and bodies, facing heat and snakes, according to the newspaper.
“They called it search and rescue, but it was really more search and recovery,” Poynter told the Dallas Morning News in 2005. “It was some of the hardest physical work I’ve ever done. But we didn’t want to leave.”
5. The Poynters, the Parents of a Young Daughter, Had Recently Returned From Vacation in Mexico
(Facebook)
Robert and Chacey Poynter, whose maiden name is Chacey Morman, lived together in Royse City. It is not clear how long they were married.
A neighbor, Judy Dixon, told KDFW-TV that the couple had recently returned from a vacation in Mexico.
Dixon said their young daughter just started first grade.
“I’m sad. I’m beside myself. I can’t believe it because they were both a nice couple as far as we could see. Everything that we’ve seen, they were absolutely fabulous,” Dixon told the news station.
